Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, encompassing both the synchronic and diachronic aspects of the phenomenon. It was standardized in the 1950s as part of the cognitive revolution (a movement growing out of the rejection of behaviorism). The modern study of linguistics focuses on several broader fields of research:

Phonetics - the study of the sounds of speech, esp. their acoustic and articulatory properties. Phonology - the study of sound patterns within speech (i.e. how sounds are organized into systems which encode meaning via abstract, symbolic elements). Semantics - the study of meaning. Pragmatics - the study of meaning as a fluid, context-dependent concept. Syntax - the study of the grammatical structure of language (i.e. how elements above the segmental level combine to encode the meaning of speech).

Historical linguistics uses several methodologies to examine the history of languages and the societies that speak them. The comparative method is the primary analytic tool within this domain, and by various people is considered the greatest gift of linguistics to the world to date. Phylogenetic methods from evilutionary biology have also been applied to the historical study of language, as well; however, these nascent attempts are still quite controversial, and the findings are muddled at best.

Society tends to pigeonhole linguistics along with other silly endeavors of the past, and linguists are received about as warmly as alchemists within scientific circles. However, we may take as God's benediction to the study of linguistics the story of Babel, in which God saw fit to create the many languages of the world, as well as the Pentecost, when the Apostles were granted the ability to speak in tongues (glossolalia).